An Australian father who made a frantic dash to America to prevent his daughter from being put up for adoption received last-minute help from an immigration agent.
Ahmad Shady of law firm Longton Legal revealed how he did everything he could to get Sydney traditional Dan Gaut’s daughter to Australia and managed to obtain her citizenship at incredibly short notice.
But the victory was short-lived when the girl’s mother, Liv, reneged on allowing Mr. Gaut to raise little Ana and instead decided she wanted to keep her.
How the heartbreaking ordeal unfolded
Mr Gaut met Liv on a trip to San Francisco and the pair fell madly in love before she returned to Australia with him.
After becoming pregnant, Liv decided to temporarily return to the US to be closer to her support network.
But once there, she told him she would stay and that their little girl would be put up for adoption.
A stunned Mr Gaut begged Liv and the couple agreed that if he could be in Texas shortly after giving birth, Ana could return to Australia with him and he could get custody.
She has since rekindled an old relationship and changed her mind, saying she wanted to raise Ana.
Carpenter Dan Gaut, from Sydney’s north, was excited about the impending birth until his pregnant girlfriend, Liv, suddenly returned to the US without him (photo: meeting his daughter Ana)
Sydney immigration law expert Ahmad Shady was able to secure Ana’s Australian citizenship in just 48 hours, a process that often takes months
An immigration agent came to help, but it was already too late
Mr Gaut flew to America shortly after Liv gave birth and met his daughter.
While preparing to bring Ana back to Australia, he discovered that despite his nationality, she did not automatically have Australian citizenship.
Mr. Shady saw Mr. Gaut’s story after it went viral in February and stepped up to offer his services pro bono.
The immigration agent had a similar experience when his ex-wife died abroad while he was caring for their two young daughters and he had to fight to bring them to Australia.
He was able to secure citizenship for Ana in just 48 hours, which normally takes weeks if not months to process
“It’s clear that his story resonated on a personal level,” he said news.com.au.
“I have personally had to go through the traumatic, bureaucratic maze of bringing children from abroad.”
Mr Shady contacted Mr Gaut via social media and subsequently arranged for Ana’s mother to agree to Australian citizenship.
He filed an application with the government on March 13, explaining that every day the application was delayed was a day the tradie could not work.
He also explained that the delays posed a risk that Liv would change her mind about the deal.
Mr Gaut was on holiday in the United States when he met Liv, who returned to Australia with him after the pair fell in love
The application was approved two days later, but despite the speed, Liv still decided to keep Ana.
‘Of course I feel terrible for (Mr Gaut). As a father of daughters, my heart would be absolutely broken,” Mr Shady said.
Father remains hopeful that his daughter can grow up in Australia
Mr Gaut explained on Instagram how shocked he was by the decision.
“Liv has changed her mind and wants to keep Ana in the United States and be her primary caregiver,” he wrote.
‘I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported me on this journey.
“I will use the remaining donations to seek legal representation in Austin and visit Ana as often as possible.
“I still have a vision of Ana growing up in Australia in the not too distant future.”
Her citizenship will not expire and Ana is now free to live in Australia at any time, but this will not affect the custody situation.
She is also an American citizen by birth.
Mr Gaut previously told ACA how he learned Ana could be put up for adoption while Liv had returned to the US ‘temporarily’.
“She started sending me adoption options for people she knew in Texas, and she sent me the links to the Instagram page,” he said.
“And I thought, ‘No, this is wrong, stop, don’t promise her to anyone.'”
Last month, a GoFundMe was launched to raise money to help Mr Gaut in his battle, which he said he will now use to hire a legal representative in the US to pursue his custody options.
Mr Gaut said he will hire legal representation in the US to pursue his custody options